February 18, 2024 7:00 am
The PIAA Individual Wrestling Championship Series began a four-week run Saturday with the WPIAL 2A Southern Sectional. All Washington & Greene County 2A wrestling schools participated in the tournament at Burgettstown with the top six finishers in each weight class advancing to next week’s WPIAL 2A Championships. WPIAL team runner-up Burgettstown led the way with 10 wrestlers advancing to the WPIAL tournament including Parker Sentipal, Gaven Suica and Rudy Brown as champions. McGuffey has eight qualifiers led by champions Tucker Main and Emmett Wolfe. Beth-Center, Fort Cherry and Jeff-Morgan have six wrestlers each moving on to the WPIAL tourney. Bentworth had there individual champions–Drake McClure, Chris Vargo and Vitali Daniels–with two other qualifiers. West Greene is sending four wrestlers on to next week, Chartiers-Houston and Wash High two each. We’ll have start-to-finish coverage of the WPIAL 2A Wrestling Championships on the WJPA Sports Network with free audio on WJPA-AM (1450) and online at wjpa.com. We’ll also provide video coverage of the championship finals through the WPIAL partnership with FloWrestling and NFHS Network.
2A Southern Sectional Championships
107 Tucker Main (McGuffey) DEC Darius Simmons (Burgettstown), 8-5
114 Drake McClure (Bentworth) DEC Jorden Williams (Chartiers-Houston), 1-0
121 Emmett Wolfe (McGuffey) DEC Mason Wright (Beth Center), 1-0
127 Chris Vargo (Bentworth) DEC Lucas Barr (McGuffey), 5-1
133 Parker Sentipal (Burgettstown) DEC Tyler Clark (Frazier), 9-2
139 Gaven Suica (Burgettstown) DEF Lucas Boyer (Elizabeth Forward), 0-0 0:00
145 Jamison Poklembo (Mt. Pleasant) DEC Owen Ivcic (Bentworth), 5-4
152 Rudy Brown (Burgettstown) DEC Damon Michaels (Elizabeth Forward), 3-2
160 Ryan Celaschi (Frazier) DEC Chase Frameli (Jefferson Morgan), 1-0
172 Elijah Brown (Belle Vernon) DEC Braedon Welsh (Fort Cherry), 3-0
189 Vitali Daniels (Bentworth) MD Jackson Angelo (Frazier), 13-1
215 Rune Lawrence (Frazier) F Colin Whyte (West Greene), 0:25
285 Dylan Pitzer (Mt. Pleasant) DEC Joseph Baronick (Burgettstown), 4-0
Third place
107 Drake Buzzard (Fort Cherry) DEC Julius Poole (Albert Gallatin), 3-0
114 Noah Collins (West Greene) F Lane Ealy (McGuffey), 2:41
121 Shawn Robertson (Fort Cherry) F Daniel Smith (Burgettstown), 2:05
127 Dylan Slovick (Burgettstown) DEC Tristan Wtorkiewicz (Mt. Pleasant), 5-3
133 Seth Burns (West Greene) F Caleb Patton (Washington), 7:30
139 Giovanni Weightman (Belle Vernon) DEC Joseph Longhi (Mt. Pleasant), 14-7
145 Kole Doppelheuer (Belle Vernon) F Logan Noyes (Burgettstown), 2:45
152 Greg Shaulis (Mt. Pleasant) DEC Shawn Hollis (Southmoreland), 11-4
160 Landen Conroy (Albert Gallatin) MD Stephen Predajna (Mt. Pleasant), 12-2
172 Brayden Taggart (Bentworth) F Reid Teagarden (McGuffey), 3:32
189 Jacob Layhue (Beth Center) DEC Anthony Salvini (Fort Cherry), 3-1 SV
215 Adam McAnany (Jefferson Morgan) DEC James Standish (Albert Gallatin), 1-0
285 Joe Wilson (Washington) F Mason Sisler (Jefferson Morgan), 1:37
Fifth Place
107 Nick Stabile (Mt. Pleasant) F Geoffrey Douglas (Beth Center), 0:47
114 Alex Medlen (Beth Center) DEC Noah Leininger (Burgettstown), 5-2
121 James Dulaney (Jefferson Morgan) DEC Rocco Zugai (Yough), 7-0
127 Nate Harrison (Fort Cherry) F Chase Celaschi (Frazier), 2:36
133 Garrett Newman (McGuffey) F Austin Mruk (Chartiers-Houston), 1:50
139 Victor Bonus (McGuffey) F Kaleb Kisow (Southmoreland), 1:50
145 Chas Rush (Fort Cherry) DEC Levi Yeater (West Greene), 7-6 SV
152 Grant Hathaway (Jefferson Morgan) F Logan Reynier (McGuffey), 0:50
160 Eric Kovach (Burgettstown) DEC Landon Delara (Southmoreland), 4-1
172 Noah Layhue (Beth Center) DEC Ethan Kenney (Southmoreland), 1-0
189 Brock Bayles (Jefferson Morgan) DEC Austin Hoffman (Belle Vernon), 3-1
215 Malachi Peak (Beth Center) DEC Kaden Shannon (Southmoreland), 3-1
285 Perry Riggle (Belle Vernon) DEC Jake Govern (Southmoreland), 3-1
February 18, 2024 7:00 am
It was a brutal start to the WPIAL basketball playoffs for Washington/Greene County teams. The only wins on opening night happened in games pitting two teams from the area against each other. The Fort Cherry girls, the #4 seed in the 2A bracket, were the only girls winners. Fort Cherry will face South Side Area in Wednesday’s quarterfinals. #5 Chartiers-Houston, #6 Wash High and #8 Burgettstown all lost at home to lower-seeded teams. On the boys side, West Greene topped Avella in the 8/9 game in the 1A bracket while Trinity fell at home in a 5A boys preliminary. Saturday afternoon, both 3A girls teams were eliminated. As we move through the brackets, we’ll have live coverage of as many games as we can, on-air and online. Our audio stream is free to all. The video, when possible, will be streamed through WPIAL partner NFHS Network (subscription required, links provided). For WPIAL brackets, CLICK HERE.
Friday, Feb. 16
1A Boys #8 West Greene 58, #9 Avella 47 Listen/Watch Here
1A Boys #7 Aquinas Academy 84, #10 California 50
1A Boys #6 Carlynton 55, #11 Jeff-Morgan 41
5A Boys #17 Woodland Hills 64, #16 Trinity 42 Listen/Watch Here
2A Girls #9 Rochester 48, #8 Burgettstown 39
2A Girls #12 South Side Area 43, #5 Chartiers-Houston 38
2A Girls #11 Winchester Thurston 51, #6 Wash High 38
2A Girls #2 Aliquippa 53, #15 California 18
2A Girls #4 Fort Cherry 66, #13 Beth-Center 16
Saturday, Feb. 17
3A Girls #3 Beaver Falls 68, #14 McGuffey 38 Listen/Watch Here
3A Girls #11 Seton-La Salle 57, #6 Waynesburg 36
February 17, 2024 1:58 am
(WPXI) – The Pittsburgh Steelers announced Friday that they officially submitted a bid to host the NFL Draft. The Steelers posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, a short video that shows them submitting Pittsburgh’s NFL Draft Bid. The team says the bid is to host the event in 2026 or 2027. City officials have approved the use of facilities if the NFL draft is awarded to Pittsburgh.
February 17, 2024 4:40 am
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been suspended by the NFL for the first two games of next season for violating the performance-enhancing drugs policy of the league and NFL Players Association. ESPN also reported the Raiders are expected to release Garoppolo next month before an $11.25 million roster bonus kicks in. Garoppolo’s days in Las Vegas appeared over at midseason when then-interim coach Antonio Pierce replaced him with rookie Aidan O’Connell for the rest of the season. Pierce became the Raiders’ full-time coach last month and the Raiders also hired Tom Telesco as their general manager.
February 17, 2024 4:39 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tiger Woods returned to the PGA Tour and lasted only 24 holes. Woods withdrew Friday at the Genesis Invitational after hitting his tee shot on the seventh hole. Woods was coping with flu-like symptoms and was dehydrated. He was treated with IV fluids and was doing better. Woods was 1-over par for the round and projected just outside the cut when he asked for a cart and was driven off the course. Later, a Los Angeles Fire Department ambulance and ladder truck were parked outside the clubhouse. PGA Tour officials said the paramedics delivered IV bags.
February 16, 2024 4:43 am
CHICAGO (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored twice, Reilly Smith and Bryan Rust added goals, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Thursday night to snap a three-game losing streak. The Penguins had lost to Minnesota, Winnipeg and Florida in succession, but controlled their third road game in four starts from the outset. With the victory, Pittsburgh moved past Washington and into sixth place in the Metropolitan Division. The Blackhawks, last in the NHL, dropped their eighth straight game (0-7-1). Blackhawks star rookie Connor Bedard assisted on Philipp Kurashev’s goal in his return a 14-game absence because of a broken jaw.
February 16, 2024 4:44 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says he will retire when his current term ends in January 2029. Speaking at a spring training news conference, Manfred noted he will be 70 years old and been commissioner for 14 years when his term ends on Jan. 25, 2029. The 65-year-old succeeded Bud Selig in January 2015 and was given a five-year term. Owners voted in November 2018 to offer Manfred a new deal through the 2024 season, then voted last July to approve his latest term.
February 16, 2024 4:45 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tiger Woods is back on the PGA Tour and his lasting memory was a shank. Woods hit a shank with an 8-iron from the 18th fairway at the Genesis Invitational. He attributes that to back spasms over the last two holes. At least he made a terrific recovery. He still made bogey and shot 72. That leaves him eight shots out of the lead. He’ll need a better round Friday to make sure he sticks around for the weekend. Woods says his back has been acting up at home. He also says there was rust from not having played much.
February 15, 2024 4:33 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Anton Lundell scored twice, Matthew Tkachuk added a goal and two assists and the surging Florida Florida Panthers cruised past the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2. Aaron Ekblad and Johan Gadjovich also scored for Florida. Evan Rodrigues added two assists to reach 200 career points as the Panthers extended their franchise-record road winning streak to nine. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 shots to win his fifth straight start. Jake Guentzel scored his 23rd goal of the season for Pittsburgh. The Penguins have dropped three straight games.
February 15, 2024 4:36 am
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks three days after losing the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs. Coach Kyle Shanahan announced the decision to move on after one season with Wilks in charge of the defense. Shanahan called it a “really tough decision” but says he wants to find a coordinator who was a better scheme fit for the talent on San Francisco’s defense. The Niners struggled on defense in the playoffs and allowed four straight scoring drives to end their Super Bowl loss against Kansas City.
